RachelLeVega's The Amazing Race 5
RachelLeVega's The Amazing Race 5 is the fifth installment of RachelLeVega's The Amazing Race, a reality competition based on the main American series, The Amazing Race. It features eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world. The season premiered with a 90-minute broadcast on October 4, 2012, at 8:00 p.m ET/PT on RLV Network, and ended with a 90-minute season finale on December 13, 2012. NASCAR pit crewmen Nick Castleton and Bobby Torricelli were the winners of this season, making them the first all-male winners of this version and the first team saved from an elimination Leg to win in Race history. Production 'Development and filming' in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Teams got to see the aurora from inside their tipi accomodations overnight.]] This season was originally to be scheduled in the 2012 mid-summer lineup on RLV Network, but was pushed back to mid-fall due to conflicts involving salary disputes between cast and crew of Humvee and The Uncharted Adventures of the Whitesburgs which prevented any new episodes on the network from airing. The race began in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and ended in Toronto, Ontario, spanning over 40,000 miles (64,000 km). The teams raced in a record-producing eleven countries: uncovering the American states of Nevada and Arizona, Argentina, Uruguay, Portugal, Madagascar, Israel, Norway, The Netherlands, the British countries of England and, a new visit to the franchise, Bermuda. This marks the first time of this version of Race to not circumnavigate the world by traveling continuously across the antimeridian. Once teams zigzagged as far east as Israel, they returned to North America traveling westward through Europe. Executive producer and host Rachel Vega described the atmosphere of the season on a TV Guide interview as "gritty, ethereal, and lost-in-paradise". She hinted the twists were inspired by the lifelines on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. Team introductions were filmed as teams exited a tipi they stayed in overnight at Wanuskewin Heritage Park. Official cast bios for the RLV site were shot aboard The Prairie Lily in Saskatoon a day prior. A clip of teams viewing the Aurora borealis from inside their tipi the night before the race commenced was shown on the premiere. Three new game elements were introduced this season: the first was the Gridlock, which was awarded to the team who finished first on Leg 1. The power allowed the last-place team on any of the next seven legs to compete in a task to win the chance at returning to the race. If the power was unused by the holders at the end of the seventh Leg, it would automatically be applied to the last-place team on Leg 8. The second element was a variant of the U-Turn, a Blind U-Turn, in which the team electing to use the U-Turn did so anonymously; the Yield still required teams to acknowledge their use to subsequent teams. The Yield, with ten opportunities in the previous season, were reduced to two in this race. Regardless, the rule enforcing teams to exercise the power of delaying another team only once in the entire race is unchanged. Lastly, the Pit Nonstop was introduced on Leg 9 where teams who successfully checked in had to immediately start the next Leg. However, the last-place team was declared eliminated. A special variant debuted this season where the team eliminated was offered 30 seconds to remain in the race by selecting an undesirable challenge. This element created controversy due to the unfairness of its consequences compared to the Speed Bump. Vega revealed in a season finale aftershow that Leg 10 was proposed as a two-episode final Leg if the last-place team had chosen to stay eliminated and the Pit Nonstop would not have existed this season if the Gridlock was successful. In 2013, Vega revealed in a preseason interview for the sixth season that she wanted Season 5 to serve as "the final heartbeats of the Speed Bump". 'Cast' Applications for RachelLeVega's The Amazing Race 5 were extendedly open for American and English-speaking Canadian citizens from November 25, 2011 until January 12, 2012. Scouting for the show occurred over New Year's Eve in Montreal, Quebec and Boston, Massachusetts. In joint with auditions, the network also ran a sweepstake eligible for American and Canadian citizens called "The Amazing Memory Vlog" where partners of two submitted a video of any "real hometown adventures" the entrants have taped prior to the start of auditions within the past year. A monthlong public vote among the videos honored on the RLV website determined two recipients of US$5,000 equivalent and a grand prize winner of being cast on the fifth season. The sweepstake ended on April 30, 2012 and married kindergarten teachers Michael and Sherlynn Levough were notified as the casted winners. The other ten teams cast included duos who often referred to themselves and by their peers as "hustlers" and "workaholics" in their daily life, including NASCAR pit crewmen Nick Castleton and Bobby Torricelli, former Afghan War veteran Waldorf Barber and his daughter Britnae Barber known for their viral 2010 military homecoming video on YouTube, dating poker players and business magnates Dirk Branstetter and Natalie Laddis, nightclub waitresses Darla Morgan and Carlie Haas, and the first-ever uncle-nephew team in The Amazing Race history Lloyd Woodley and Marcus Tatum. 'Marketing' This season had two official sponsors: Expedia and Nissan. On certain legs, Nissan gifted first place teams a "Pit Stop experience" during their mandatory twelve-hour rest period. The promotional theme to engage primetime viewers was a photorealistic animation of a commercial airplane flying off camera. In the first 2.5 seconds before transitioning into the clip of the plane, a string of binary code on a contrast color background flashed by to unveil the show title and the airtime information. In an alternative sequence, the encoding text flashed during the plane scene. Results The following teams participated in the Race, with their relationships at the time of filming. Note that this table is not necessarily reflective of all content broadcast on television due to inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order: *A blue team's placement indicates that the team came in last but was not eliminated. **An underlined blue team's placement indicates that the team came in last on a non-elimination leg and had to perform a Speed Bump task in the following leg. **An italicised blue placement indicates that the team came in last on an elimination leg but were saved by the Pit Nonstop challenge. *A red team placement indicates that the team was eliminated. ** A red ⊗ indicates the team who was granted the Gridlock lost their chance to return to the race. *A yellow <> around a leg number indicates a leg where the Yield was available but not used. *A green ƒ indicates that the team won a Fast Forward clue. If placed next to a leg number, this indicates that the Fast Forward was available for that leg but not used. *A brown ⊃ means the team chose to use a U-Turn; ⊂ indicates the team who received it. Notes: # TBA Episode title quotes Episode title quotes are often made by the racers. #"If I Let Go, Am I Going to Plunge Through the Dinghy?" – Sherlynn #"Thanks for Smacking Me!" – Dirk #"Again, Your Transaction Is Declined" – cashier in Buenos Aires (non-racer) #"Few Hold On, but the Realest Ones Stay" – Lorenzo #"My Boyfriend Would be Wilding Out Kissin' These Lips" – Britnae #"NOOOOOOOO!!!" – Erica #"There's the Overlord!" – Nick #"Outrageous Hunk Behavior" – Waldorf #"You Have Rich People on Your Side to Do Stuff for You" – Nick #"Liar, Liar, Pants Charred in an Incinerator" – Britnae #"Believe Nothing You Hear, Hear Nothing You Believe" – Jedediah Prizes The prize for each leg is awarded to the first place team for that leg. All trips and vacation packages are sponsored by Expedia. Pit Stop experiences are sponsored by Nissan. *'Leg 1' – The Gridlock – a lifeline that gives any last-place team the chance to continue the race (automatically applied at the end of Leg 8) *'Leg 2' – An overnight luxury spa retreat at Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch during the Pit Stop *'Leg 3' – A horseback ride and picnic on the beach during the Pit Stop *'Leg 4' – A serenaded port wine and cheese tasting during the Pit Stop *'Leg 5' – A vanilla plantation tour during the Pit Stop *'Leg 6' – A Feast of Passover tasting during the Pit Stop *'Leg 7' – Two customized 2013 Nissan Altimas *'Leg 8' – A five-night vacation package for two to Amsterdam, The Netherlands *'Leg 9' – A trip for two to Guernsey *'Leg 10' – A five-night all-inclusive vacation package for two to Bermuda *'Leg 11' – $US750,000 Elimination Station After elimination, the first five eliminated teams were sequestered at a villa in Negril, Jamaica to await the finale. These short videos were posted on the RLV Network website to show the teams interacting at the villa. *'Leg 1' was a non-elimination leg, hence no team was sent to the villa and no episode was shown. *After Leg 2, Race summary 'Leg 1 (Canada '→''' United States) '''Airdate: October 4, 2012 * Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (The Bowl, University of Saskatchewan in front of Peter MacKinnon Building) (Starting Line) * Saskatoon (John G. Diefenbaker International Airport) to Las Vegas, Nevada, United States (McCarran International Airport) * Las Vegas (Flamingo Hotel and Casino) * Las Vegas (Fremont Street Experience) * Las Vegas (Plaza Hotel and Casino) * Las Vegas (Circus Circus Hotel and Casino - RV Park) (Overnight Rest) * Las Vegas (North Las Vegas Airport) to Tusayan, Arizona (Grand Canyon National Park Airport) * Marble Canyon (Navajo Bridge) * Marble Canyon (Lee's Ferry) For the first Detour of the race, teams chose between High Altitude or Low Temperature. In High Altitude, teams had to ride "Big Shot", the world's highest amusement ride, at the Stratosphere Tower. Each ride begins 10 minutes apart. When the ride ascends to its climax, teams will have 2 minutes to scope the city for a banner displaying five three-digit numbers before the coaster drops 1,081 ft (329 m) at 50 mph. If teams have memorized the numbers, they had to take the elevator back to the first floor and unlock one of eleven safes holding their next clue by inputting the digits respectively. In Low Temperature, teams had to travel to the Minus5 Ice Bar at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, and carve a 3 in (7.6 cm) deep ice luge using picks and a hammer. When teams are approved of their luge, they had to make the bar's signature cocktail and pour the mixture down the luge to fill twelve shot glasses to receive their next clue. In the first Roadblock of the race, one team member had to rappel 140 m from a bridge onto a dinghy in the Colorado River. They must then unhook themselves and row to a marked area to retrieve a Native American headdress feather. After that, team members had to climb to the top of the canyon where they must trade the feather to a guide for their next clue. Additional tasks * At the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, teams had to search the casino for Rosaria, a craps dealer, to receive their next clue. * After taking a zip-line ride across the Fremont Street Experience, teams had to travel on foot to the pool deck of the Plaza Hotel and Casino to find their next clue. * At the RV Park, teams had to search inside marked RVs for one of three times of helicopter flight groups departing the next morning from North Las Vegas Airport to an unknown destination. Teams will find their next clue on a 2011 Nissan Frontier at the mystery location. The destination was shown to viewers as the Grand Canyon although the exact landing point is in Tusayan. Leg 2 (United States) Airdate: October 11, 2012 Category:RachelLeVega's The Amazing Race Seasons